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Updated: May 21, 2026

Controlled Photoredox Ring-Opening Polymerization of O-Carboxyanhydrides Mediated by Ni/Zn Complexes
Published on: November 21, 2017
Sustainable Synthesis of Bio-Based Oligoesters via ROCOP Reaction of Epoxidized Vegetable Oils with Cyclic Anhydrides
Genesys L Mahecha1, Abigail Montiel2, Valentino Cárdenas-Toledo1
1Instituto de Ciencias Químicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Isla Teja, Av. Rector Eduardo Morales Miranda 33, Valdivia 5090000, Chile.
Abstract:
This study presents an efficient method for producing biobased oligomers from waste cooking oils (WCOs), a renewable and sustainable feedstock. Epoxidized vegetable oils derived from olive (EOO), sunflower (ESO), and grape seed (EGSO) oils were copolymerized via ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) with cyclic anhydrides such as phthalic and maleic anhydride. The reaction was catalyzed using five ionic liquids as organocatalysts, combined with tetrabutylammonium iodide as a cocatalyst. Among them, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (IL1) showed the highest activity, allowing quantitative conversion at 80 °C within 1 h. The resulting oligomers (Mn(exp) = 1021-1732 Da) were characterized by NMR, FT-IR, GPC, and TGA. A mechanistic study supported by NMR and DFT calculations revealed that ionic liquids promote epoxy ring opening through hydrogen-bond stabilization. Overall, the work highlights ionic liquids as effective catalysts for the rapid synthesis of biobased oligoesters via ROCOP.
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